Collapsible loading and storing device



Feb. 21, 1950 R. GONDAR 2,498,414

COLLAPSIBLE LOADING AND STORING DEVICE Filed May 10, 1945 3 Sheets-Sheet1 Feb. 21, 1950 R. G 5NDAR 2,498,414

COLLAPSIBLE LOADING AND STORING DEVICE f Filed May 10, 1945 Y 5Sheets-Sheet 2 Feb. 21, 1950 R. GONDAR 2,498,414

COLLAPSIBLE LOADING AND STORING DEVICE Filed May 10, 1945 5 Sheets-Sheet5 v 17 W MB L v )5 ii 1,1 3 5 Patented Feb. 21, 1950 OFFICE COLLAPSIB'LELOADING AND STORING DEVICE Rudolph Gondar, Stratford, Conn.

Application May 10, 1945, Serial N0. 593,033

10'Claims. 1

This invention relates to a collapsible loading andstoring device, andmore particularly to what may be termed a crate or container forhandling, shipping or transporting articles or materials, which articlesare of such a nature or which are cased or boxed in such form that theymay be stacked in tiers and securely held in place within the crate orcontainer, sothat the entire loadmay be readily handled by Well-knownloading and handling devices such as fork-lift trucks or the like.

As illustrated and described, I have shown my .device as applied to thehandling of blocks or slabs of rubber, but it will be understood that itis applicable to the handling of other materials as well.

In the handling of slabs or rubber at the present time, and particularblocks or slabs of synthetic rubber, each slab is placed in a paper bagand is handled individually. I contemplate by the present inventionproviding a collapsible crate or container in which a plurality of suchblocks or cakes of rubber may be stacked and held in place, so that theentire load in one container maybe loaded and transported withoutrehandling. The

container or crate is of skeleton form,.so that when it has beenunloaded, it may be collapsed and returned to the shipper, so that itmay be used again. As shown, the collapsible container or crate may besupported or placed upon a platform or pallet, the latter being soconstructed so that it maybe readily handled by well-known means .suchas fork-lift trucks, for example.

In handling cakes .or slabs of synthetic rubber by my method, it will beunnecessary for each cake of rubber to :be placed in a paper bag, thuseffecting a considerable saving both in labor and paper. Moreover, thecakes do not have .to be handled individually, but a plurality of them,.24

or more, for example, may be stacked in a single container and handledas a unit during transportation of the material and, if desired,.alsoduring the storage thereof.

As is well'known, synthetic rubber when first manufactured has atendency to shrink, .and the device which I have constructed is sodesigned as to permit such shrinkage and, at the same time, hold .thecakes securely in place so that they will notslip off the pallet uponwhich they are carried. Moreover, the device .is of skeleton form sothat it will be of relatively simple construction and light weight, thusrenderingit economical .to .construct and also economical to ship ortransport, both when loaded and when being returned. in collapsedcondition .to the original shipper.

One object of the invention is toprovide .a .novel form of crate orcontainer .for storing, handling and transporting materials in .cases,slabs or cakes which may .bestacked one .upon .the other.

A .further object of the invention visto provide 2 a collapsiblecontainer or crate for containing articles to be handled or stored,which container will be of relatively simple construction and soarranged that it may be collapsed into a relatively small space forreturn shipment when it is empty.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a crate or containerof sturdy and simple construction and which will, at the same time, becontractable to take up any shrinkage which might occur in the materialsstored-within it, and the parts of which may be readily disassembled forunloading and collapsed into compact form for reshipment when emptied.

To these and other ends the invention consists in the novel features andcombinations of parts to be hereinafter'described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of a collapsible crate or containerembodying my invention, the device being shown as containing apluralityof cakes or slabs of synthetic rubber;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the device shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a side elevational view of the device when empty and in acollapsed condition;

Fig. 4is a top plan-view of the lower section of the device when theupright'corner members are folded in place;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view on line 55 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged detail sectional view on line 6-6 of Fi "1;

Fig. '7 is a view similar to Fig. 5 showing a modified form of mydevice;

Fig. 8 is a perspective view of a pallet of mod-ified form; and

'Fig. 9 is a side elevational View of another form of pallet.

.To illustrate a preferred embodiment-of my invention, I'have shown inFigs. 1 to .6 of the-draw ings a base or supporting member usuallycalled .a pallet having a collapsible crate or container restingthereupon. As shown, this container, as will be hereinafter more fullydescribed, consists of three sections, a lower or base section, an in-.termediate section, and a top .or upper section.

The pallet may be of any preferred construction but, as shown herein,consists of a plurality of stringer elements l 0, three in number asshown, arranged in parallel relation and having cross slats .l.l securedto the upperand lower surfaces thereof .to .form abase below thestringers and a platform above the stringers.

vAs shown, the stringer elements 10 may Com prise a pair of channelmembers l2 and .I3, the latter .beingnested within .the former .as shownin Fig. .5 to form a hollow member of rigid construction and ofrelatively light weight. These stringer members are arranged in parallelrela- -60 tionasare the transverse members ll,:so as to form a rigidbase or support for the heavy load which they are designed to carry.

As previously stated, the collapsible container or crate supported uponthe pallet is formed in three sections, a lower section designatedgenerally by the numeral I4, an intermediate section I5 and an uppersection IS. The lower section comprises a rectangular base portion H ofangle iron construction and of open formation, the four sides of whichmay be held rigidly together by the diagonal braces 8 which may havetheir ends welded to the hollow frame Adjacent each corner of the frameI! is welded a collar or sleeve within which is rotatably mounted oneleg 2| of a member 22 of substantially triangular shape. To one end ofthe member 22 is secured a tubular member 23 to which is pivoted at 24 arod 25 designed to be telescopically received in a tubular member 26pivoted at 21 to one side of the frame IT. The third arm 28 of themember 22 may also be secured to the tubular member 23 to increase therigidity of the construction, and collars 29 may be welded to the leg 2|on each side of the tubular member 20 to prevent any play of the member22 within the tube 20.

With the above construction it will be seen that the members 23 may beextended to a vertical position with respect to the frame H as shown inFigs. 1 and 5, or may be folded to a substantially horizontal positionwithin the frame I! as shown in Fig. 4 and as shown in dotted lines inFig. .5. When the tubular members 23 are in their vertically extendedposition, they are rigidly held in this position by the rod 25 and thetubular member 26, and the latter may be provided with a set screw 30 toretain the parts in this position. By loosening the set screw, the rod25 will be permitted to telescope within the tube 26 and permit thefolding of the parts to the dotted line position shown in Fig. 5, theleg 2| rotating within the sleeve 20.

In order that the container may be held securely upon the base orpallet, a plate 3| may be welded at each corner of the frame I1, whichplates may be secured to the pallet by retaining bolts 32. Thusthe'lower section M of the device will be rigidly secured to the palletfor handling.

The central section l5 of the device comprises an open rectangular framemember 34 which preferably consists of two sections constructedsimilarly to the member l1 and placed back .to back, so that it will beprovided with upwardly extending flanges 35 and downwardly extendingflanges 36, each of these flanges being constituted by one side of theangle irons of which the frame member is constructed. As shown moreespecially in Fig. 5, for example, collars 31 are secured at the lowerside of the member 34, within which collars are rotatably mounted thetriangular base portions 38 of downwardly extending rods 39, there beingone of these assemblies at each corner of the device, and the rods 39being adapted to be telescopically received within the tubular members23 when the device is assembled. It will also be understood that thisintermediate section of the device is provided with cross braces 4|]similar to the cross braces I 8. It will also be understood that themembers 39 may be folded against the section 34 so that they will liewithin the outline of the flanges 36 when the device isin collapsedcondition shown in Fig. 3. Also, at each cornerof the section 34, angleplates 4| may be secured exteriorly of the frame section, whichangularplates are adapted when the device is collapsed as shown in Fig. 3 tooverlap theframe I! so as to hold the parts of theb'ontainer'in'assembled 'relationi' On the upper side of the intermediate section34 are pivoted tubular members 23 constructed similar to the members 23and pivotally secured in the same manner. These members, it will beunderstood, may be folded downwardly within the flange 35 or may be heldin a vertical position as shown in Fig. 5 by the tubular member 26 andthe rod 25 which telescopes therein, these members being constructedsimilarly to their counterparts 25 and 26 already described. It will beunderstood that there will be one of the members23 at each corner of thedevice as described in connection with the base section H.

The upper member l6 of the container comprises a top section 43 similarto the base section I! but in inverted relation with respect to the basesection, so that the flanges 44 of the top section project downwarly. Ateach corner of this section a rod 39 is pivotally mounted in a collar 3|similar to the rods 39 and collar 3'! previously described, so thatthese rods may swing to a folded position within the flanges 44 or mayassume a vertical position as shown in Fig. 5. It will be understoodthat the rods 39 and 39* are not provided with bracing members such asthe members 25 and 26, as these rods are held in their verticalpositions by being telescoped within the tubes 23 and 23.

In the use of my device, the lower section l4 will be placed upon thepallet l0 and secured by the bolts 32. The cakes or slabs of rubber maythen be placed upon this section, the material resting upon the upperplatform I of the pallet. In Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings I have shownfour cakes of rubber 45 arranged within the frame IT in staggeredrelation as shown, so as to leave an opening 46 in the center forpurposes of ventilation. As shown, the frame I! is of such dimensionsthat each side of the frame is of a length equal to the sum of thelength and the width of one of the rubber cakes so that they may snuglynest within the frame as shown in Fig. 2. It will be understood that thetubular members 23 are in their upright or extended positions when therubber cakes are placed within the frame.

When the desired number of tiers of rubber cakes, three for example,have been placed one on top of the other, the intermediate section I5 isput in place with the rods 39 telescoped within the tubular members 23,the cross braces 40 of this frame resting upon the upper surface of thematerial. The tubular members 23 are then extended and more material,for example, another three tiers, is piled upon the interme- ,.diateframe l5. The upper section It; is then put in place with the rods 39telescoping within the tubular members 23*.

It will be seen that the edges of the rubber blocks will lie within theflanges 36 and 44 of the frame members, and as the latter are heldagainst side sway by the telescopic fitting of the rods 39 and 39 in thetubes 23 and 23 the entire load will be secured against shifting on thepallet Hi. It will also be understood that as the rubber shrinks, therods 39 and 39 will simply telescope to a greater extent within thetubes 23 and 23 so as to take up this shrinkage and. at all times holdthe rubber cakes in compact relation, so that the entire load may bereadily handled as a unit without danger of any of the cakes becomingdetached or slipping out. The members 23 and 39 and 23 and 39 provide inefiect extensible and contractable connections between the intermediatesection and the upper and lower sections or frames to permit thisoperation. Also the members '25 and 26 and 25 .5 and "326 provide:.-'exi'.ensible and contractable brace: members-to .holdxthe' tubularmembers i 23 and: 23 in their vertical. directions .or-sto permit themto 'fold closely-against the frame members to. which they are pivoted.

"-Whenitt-isdesired to empty the container and return it to theshipper;zthe:upper=section-44 is lifted from' theiintermediate:sectionand the :rods or legs 39 :'foldedxzwithin thewtflan'ges 44. Ihe cakes ofrubber will then be removediirom above the intermediate. section .I 5'"and it. isthen lifted from the lower section, the tubular-members: 23and the rods '39 being-folded against .the irame withinthe flanges 35and 35. :When-the' cakes of rubber are removed fromthe lower-section,the tubular leg members 23 will likewisebe'folded against the lower..frame section, and the'intermediate and upper sections Willi-thensuperpose on the lower section,-as shownin-Fig. 3, the flanges of thethree sections abutting each other enclosing the folded legmembers. Theangle plates 4| secured to the intermediate section 15 will: overlap the.iramer members- I T- and 43;. and thuszho'ldithe parts inassembledrelation. It will be apparent that the :containerin this knockeddown'condition occupies a very small space, and together with :the pallet l:may' be returned to the shipperin compact form.

:In- Fig; 7 ofthedrawings I have shown asomewhat modified form of myinvention-wherein the intermediate 'frame' membertd isprovided at thecorner portions thereof with rigid tubular members 50 open at. bothends. Thezlower frame member 1 'i.-.is-provided withpivoted tubularmembers. |v similar to the members :23, :these2members, howeven-beingof. the eproperoutside diameter to fit. snugly within the tubular?members 58. The upper .fr-ame member- 4.3fm providedhwith pivotedrods-52 :which -.tel-escopesnugly within the tubular t-legs: 5 I theselegs-being :sufiiciently long-to extend through the sleeve-or tubes 50.

"With this construction, it will. be seenathat .it is not necessarytoprovidethe extensible braces .suchas the-members'25: and-26-shown inFig. 5

as the members 5i and. 52-will be rigidly held in verticalposition byengagement with thesleeve 5i and by the telescopic arrangement :ofthemembers 5i and 52. Aside fromthis change the'containerwshowniin-Figr hissimilar to that shown in Figs. 1 to 6 of the drawing.

This form of my invention shown in Fig.7 is somewhat simpler than theform of my invention shown in Figs. 1 to 6, due to the omission of thebraces. It will also be apparent that the three sections: of thecontainer may be nested togetheras before, as the members 5| and 52 arefolded against the frame-sections te -which tbev are pivoted, and thesleeve '5fl will lie within the abutting flanges of the frame sections.In this connection it will be notedthat the portions of the sleeve 50projecting above and below-the flanges of the section 34 aresuiiiciently..-shortso that they-will lie within the vertical flanges oftheirames I! and '43.

It may. also be noted that the intermediate section I 5 .of the deviceas'shown in Fig. 5 issubstantial-lyacombination of thelu-pper and lowersections M and IS with that part whichcorresponds to the lower'sectionatits upper side and the part that corresponds to the upper'section' atits lower side. With this construction it will be seen that as manysections as desired may be employed one on top of the other with the useof a plurality of the intermediate sections.

As shown in Fig. 7 of the drawings, the stringers 55: .:of..thet';pallet which isupportxthe collapsible containerare ofhollow rectangulardesigm'and three ofsuchstringers are used in parallel relation to Which:are connected thelupper and lower cross slats 5| L. .In Fig. s'of thedrawing I have shown a modifiedform of:pallet-in which the two endstringers 56 are of hollow rectangular form, and the middle stringer 5"!.1 comprises a T beam.

To :the lowerrsurf aces 'of these stringersv are -se-- cured metalslatsorplates 58,.while thev platform at the upper side 'of the"stringers comprises a corrugated sheet'metal plate 59. This plate maybe perforated as shown at 6ll so as to admit air to thespa'ce'lfi at thecenter of the pile of rubber blocks as. shown in Fig. 2. The palletshown in Fig. 8. is constructed entirely of metal, and, while itmay bemade of members of relatively light weight, is extremely strong anddurable.

chi-Fig; 9 ofthesdrawings I have shown a form of. pallet Lin: "which:the stringers 6| consist of angle beams disposed as illustratedwith-thehorizontalnportions ofi theuend beams "directed inwardly. Theupper face 62 of the pallet may comprise a corrugated plate similar tothat illustrated at 59 in Fig. 8, while the lower face may consist "ofaplurality; of metaltplates '63, these members helug-secured to :theangle irons in. any well-known way; such as we1ding',.for:'example. iIt'will also be understood that the members. 58 .and. .59 of Fig. 8 may'be welded tothe stringers. 56 :and 51.

While Ihave .shownuand desoribed.some preferred. embodiments. of my.invention; =it will :be understo'od'ithatit is not 'to .be-limited toallof the; details .shown, but is capable of modification and.variation.within .thespirit. of the invention and withinthescope oftheclaims.

. What I' cla'im is:

1.- A device rfo'r loading and transporting stacked'e "articles, 1 saiddevice comprising a "lower frame member of substantiallyrectangularshape having upstanding bordering flanges along its edges-an upper framemember-of substantially rectangular shape having downwardly projectingbordering flanges along its edges, leg elements projecting upwardly fromtheJlowermember and downwardlywfrom :the' uppernmember, the leg elementsof. one member slidably receiving therein thelegelements of :the othermember whereby the legelements telescope togethento provide extensible-JcQnnectiQns' between said members, and the leg'elements 'ofone memberbeing pivoted thereto adjacent to .and within the flanges thereof.

- 2. A device for loading :and transporting stacked articles, saiddevice comprising alower frame member of substantiallyrectangular shapehaving upstanding bordering "flanges along "its edges, 'an-wupper framemember of substantially rectangularshape having downwardly projectingbordering flanges along its edges,'=leg elements projecting upwardlyfrom the lower member and downwardly from the upper member, said legelements telescoping together to provide extensible connections betweensaid members, the leg elements of one "member: being pivoted theretoadjacentto and within'the flanges thereof, and means on-saidonememberfor h'oldingsaid leg elements inpositions'in which "they projectverti'cally' from the 'frame' member with which they are associated.

3. -A device for transporting stackedarticles comprising a lower tramemember .of substantially rectangular form, an upper frame member ofsimilar form, leg elements pivoted to each of said frame members andprojecting toward the other member, the leg elements of one member beingtelescopically received within those of the other member to provide anextensible rigid connection between said members and each frame memberhaving bordering flanges within which lie the pivot points of the legmembers.

4. A device for transporting stacked articles comprising a lower framemember of substantially rectangular form, an upper frame member ofsimilar form, leg elements pivoted to each of said frame members andprojecting toward the 1 other member, the leg elements of one memberbeing telescopically received within those of the other member toprovide an extensible rigid connection between said members, said legelements being pivoted to the frame members with which they areassociated to be folded thereagainst when the device is collapsed forshipment, and

each of saidframe members having vertically disposed flanges extendingalong the outer edges thereof and projecting toward the other member,which flanges are disposed outwardly of the pivots of said leg elementsand are adapted to abut when the device is collapsed whereby the legelements when folded are enclosed within said flanges.

5. A container or like device for transporting stacked articlescomprising a lower frame member, an intermediate frame member and anupper the upper and lower frame members and adapted to be telescopicallyengaged with the leg elements of the upper and lower frame members toprovide rigid extensible connections between said members, and means onthe intermediate frame member overlying the articles on the lower memberand underlying the articles on the upper member.

6. A container or like device for transporting,

stacked articles comprising a lower frame member, an intermediate framemember and an upper frame member, leg elements pivotally secured to saidupper and lower frame members and adapted to stand in a verticalposition projecting toward the intermediate frame member, means on theintermediate frame member projecting toward the upper and lower framemembers and adapted to be telescopically engaged with the le elements ofthe upper and lower frame members to provide rigid extensibleconnections between said members, and means on the upper and lowermembers for securing certain of said leg elements in vertical projectingposition.

7. A device for transporting stacked articles comprising a lowersection, an intermediate section and an upper section, said upper andlower sections having side flanges projecting downwardly and upwardlyrespectively, said intermediate section having flanges projecting towardeach of the other sections, leg elements pivoted to the lower sectionand adapted to project vertically upwardly therefrom, leg elementspivoted to said intermediate section and adapted to project bothupwardly and downwardly therefrom, leg elements pivoted to the uppersection and adapted to project downwardly therefrom, and the legelements of the intermediate section being slidably engaged with thoseof the upper and lower sections.

'8.- A device for transporting stacked articles comprising a lowersection, an intermediate section and an upper section, said upper andlower sections having side flanges kprojecting down-. wardly andupwardly respectively, said intermediate section having flangesprojecting toward each of the other sections, leg elements pivoted tothe lower section and adapted to project vertically upwardly therefrom,leg elements pivoted to said intermediate section and adapted to projectboth upwardly and downwardly therefrom, leg elements pivoted to theupper section and adapted to project downwardly therefrom, the legelements of the intermediate section being slidably engaged with thoseof the upper and lower sections, and extensible brace members forholding certain of said leg members in projectingpositions,

9. A device for transporting stacked articles comprising a lower framemember having leg elements pivoted thereto so as to be swung to asubstantially vertical position with respect thereto, an intermediatesection having sleeve elements secured thereto open at both ends, anupper frame member having leg elements pivoted thereto to projectdownwardl therefrom, the leg elements of the upper and lower framemembers being received within the sleeves of the intermediate framemembers, and the legs of the lower frame member being telescopicallyengaged with those of the upper frame member.

' 10. A device fortransporting stacked articles comprising a lower framemember having leg elements pivoted thereto so as to be swung to asubstantially vertical position with respect thereto, an intermediatesection having sleeve elements secured theretoopen at both ends, anupper frame member having leg elements pivoted thereto to projectdownwardly therefrom, the leg elements of the upper and lower framemembers being received within the sleeves of the intermediate framemembers, the legs of the lower frame member being telescopically engagedwith those of the upper frame member, and each of said frame membersbeing provided with vertically directed flanges, whereby the leg membersmay be folded to positions to within the flanges to enable compactdisposition of the parts for shipment when the device is not in use.

' RUDOLPH GONDAR.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 719,891 Shocklin et a1. Feb. 3,1903 1,038,923 Mathy Sept. 17, 1912 1,742,738 Turner Jan. 7, 19301,771,264 Marrits July 22, 1930 1,952,627 Karper Mar. 27, 1934 2,000,067Di Mauro May 7, 1935 2,249,189 Thimm July 15, 1941 2,292,310 WilkinsAug. 4, 1942 2,340,540 Lange Feb. 1, 1944 2,371,878 Cruickshank Mar. 20,1945 2,388,730 Fallert Nov. 13, 1945 v FOREIGN PATENTS Number CountryDate 474,889 Germany Apr. 13, 1929

